Who on BR has bought a 'cheap' Chinese carbon frame?

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Comments

  • loftushall
    loftushall Posts: 2
    Thats some pretty good advice,
    I had accepted the risk that if it was a disaster i'd probably lose the money but reckoned the chances were that it'd work out more than it wouldn't. It truly was a gamble and I was aware I could lose the money.
    As regard to painting I went with plain carbon finish so no chance of messed up finishes.
    Lastly in terms of building it up - I thought I knew a lot about building up bikes but as you say dealing with stuff you haven't had a chance to look at means thats quite a learning process too.
    I'm glad i've done it and i've learnt a lot but it isn't a simple as clicking and ordering one.
  • ricky1980
    ricky1980 Posts: 891
    well on the point of quality of the product etc...i managed to have a look inside the tubes on my frame through the eyelets where the internal routing are...to my horror i saw some 12k weaved carbon there...

    as a frame the sheet should be UD carbon and the finishing layer should be 13k/3k weave. tho my frame is not supposed to have any weaved carbon sheets. So i am very dubious about the frame construction and quality now.
    Road - Cannondale CAAD 8 - 7.8kg
    Road - Chinese Carbon Diablo - 6.4kg
  • ricey155
    ricey155 Posts: 233
    My mate has just received his DOGMA from china bought through DH Gate, the bike looks superb he even took it into halfords on a ride (there not the best) but they said it was pretty good

    having seen the quality 1st hand my planet x is no better or stronger so next bike will be a custom think 65.1 or newer (if they make one soon)
  • mosamahab
    mosamahab Posts: 42
    Ricky, I think if you would have searched about the unidirectional layup frames from china you would have known that it is only a cosmetic layer. I understand you could feel cheated by it and obviously you dont have much of a leg to stand on because the seller is in china. You cant hold them to any standards, so you have to keep it as simple as possible.

    I have read frames from china in UD finish only have the last layer of carbon just for aesthetics, The whole frame is not layed up in one direction. I would be wary of that and not pay extra for the UD finish, just get 3k.

    There is risk involved but 8/10 times I have seen these frames work.
  • ademort
    ademort Posts: 1,924
    I,ve had my Chinarello for 18 months now and am still very happy with it.Looking at these replica frames i fancy the Mcipollini RB1000 or the BMC Impec. They look great. OK so they are not the real thing but what the hell. I,m just going to have to wait till my Chinarello catastrophically falls to bits which could be another 10 years.
    Ademort
    ademort
    Chinarello, record and Mavic Cosmic Sl
    Gazelle Vuelta , veloce
    Giant Defy 4
    Mirage Columbus SL
    Batavus Ventura
  • ricky1980
    ricky1980 Posts: 891
    Mosa I think you misunderstood my point about UD. I don't mind UD finish on the outside. But the inner most layer of a frame shouldn't be a weaved carbon sheet. Carbon frames are made fro
    UD sheets solely and orientated in different directions at each layer and at different junction to produce the desired mechanical dynamics.

    The issue with having a weaved carbon sheet on the inside of the tube makes me suspect the factory was just simply sticking sheets of carbon together regardless of the the fact if the sheet is at all useful structurally. 12k and 3k weaved sheets have no structural benefits they are simply cosmetic finishing layer.
    Road - Cannondale CAAD 8 - 7.8kg
    Road - Chinese Carbon Diablo - 6.4kg
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Yikes
    $T2eC16hHJHYE9nzpgIWLBRWcI6oM4w~~60_57.JPG
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cervelo-S5-RE ... 2a2b409e53
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • LegendLust
    LegendLust Posts: 1,022
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    Yikes
    $T2eC16hHJHYE9nzpgIWLBRWcI6oM4w~~60_57.JPG
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cervelo-S5-RE ... 2a2b409e53


    "This frame has only been used a handful amount of times, and it is truly a magnificent frame, super smooth ride, and very Aerodynamic! This crack developed after the first ride"

    Makes you shudder
    Selling my Legend frame
    http://owningalegend.wordpress.com/2014 ... ced-price/
  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    LegendLust wrote:
    "This frame has only been used a handful amount of times, and it is truly a magnificent frame, super smooth ride, and very Aerodynamic!
    LegendLust wrote:
    This crack developed after the first ride"

    The definition of low expectations.
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    Yikes
    $T2eC16hHJHYE9nzpgIWLBRWcI6oM4w~~60_57.JPG
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cervelo-S5-RE ... 2a2b409e53


    About 3/4 of the way down the page:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12898462&hilit=cervelo&start=120

    He must be pretty gutted after dropping £2.6k on the build
  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    That's pretty rough for such a young lad, one hopes if he was able to scrape £2600 together in the first place, perhaps he can get another, maybe locally sourced this time.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    dodgy wrote:
    That's pretty rough for such a young lad, one hopes if he was able to scrape £2600 together in the first place, perhaps he can get another, maybe locally sourced this time.

    To be fair, he's only lost the value of the frame so it isn't so bad. But a useful lesson - particularly that he realises the few quid he'll hopefully get for it off Ebay is more than he'd get if he sent it back to China.

    Shame he couldn't see past the fake Cervelo badging and get himself instead an honest Planet X or Ribble with two year warranty but that's 16 year olds!

    Mind you, after I graduated in 1989, with a professional job ahead of me, I splashed £335 on a Dawes Horizon and thought that was extravagant. The Galaxy at £435 was way out of reach. I doubt the Horizon would have been 1k in todays money.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    Also WTF "the frame is still rideable"

    erm.. not its not?!?!

    Its pretty unacceptable to describe it that way to try and sell it.
  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    I think he might be better off writing the frame off and moving the components over to a frame from PX, Dolan, Ribble etc.
  • andyrr
    andyrr Posts: 1,823
    That crack could be just the paint ? Does look worriny but may not be as serious as it appears to be.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    andyrr wrote:
    That crack could be just the paint ? Does look worriny but may not be as serious as it appears to be.

    You need to look at the Ebay ad. Another pic shows the crack running along the underside of the seatstay as well. It's not really somewhere that you want cracks.......
    Faster than a tent.......
  • ricey155
    ricey155 Posts: 233
    I feel sorry for him, hard lesson to learn at 16 but i guess we all need them

    how much would it cost to get it checked out ? I'm not sure I'd like to risk my health / life riding that at any speed.
  • Herbsman
    Herbsman Posts: 2,029
    I don't care how old he is, he's still an idiot for buying it, and a scumbag for trying to sell it.
    CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!
  • kev77
    kev77 Posts: 433
    Too me this looks like a crack in what appears to be cheap paint and/ or lacquer

    But adding to this as a possible cause is a cheaper form of carbon that has been used, that has been put under stress through use and caused the above

    However the only way to tell would be to sand back and check the material itself

    Personally I would stay clear of these frames and go with a UK dealer that can provide a customer service if required
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Fake Chinese low grade carbon frame fails shocker!
  • lakeland
    lakeland Posts: 76
    Quite possibly caused by over tightening the brake, I'll bet he didn't use a torque wrench on the build
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    lakeland wrote:
    Quite possibly caused by over tightening the brake, I'll bet he didn't use a torque wrench on the build

    Hmmm
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/f ... ear-37212/
    http://www.stuartmole.co.uk/
  • DrWally
    DrWally Posts: 54
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-38-50mm-700 ... 27d565fe2f


    so, any comments on these babies? By no means i am looking for a top quality set, but I got curious reading about it, and for this price, I consider them just a pair of experimental training wheels.

    how do i know what hubs are used, for example?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    DrWally wrote:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-38-50mm-700C-Carbon-Road-TT-bike-bicycle-Tubular-Wheels-Wheelset-matt-3k-/171083955759?pt=US_Wheels_Wheelsets&hash=item27d565fe2f


    so, any comments on these babies? By no means i am looking for a top quality set, but I got curious reading about it, and for this price, I consider them just a pair of experimental training wheels.

    how do i know what hubs are used, for example?

    That isn't a frame - it's a pair of wheels. There's a separate thread for crap Chinese wheels. :wink:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • DrWally
    DrWally Posts: 54
    Rolf F wrote:
    DrWally wrote:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-38-50mm-700C-Carbon-Road-TT-bike-bicycle-Tubular-Wheels-Wheelset-matt-3k-/171083955759?pt=US_Wheels_Wheelsets&hash=item27d565fe2f


    so, any comments on these babies? By no means i am looking for a top quality set, but I got curious reading about it, and for this price, I consider them just a pair of experimental training wheels.

    how do i know what hubs are used, for example?

    That isn't a frame - it's a pair of wheels. There's a separate thread for crap Chinese wheels. :wink:

    :) haha. located, thnx. the post your referred to was quite helpful. Bottom line being that the parts are quite decent, you just better have somebody around that can at least check for possible mistakes.
  • disabledcyclist
    disabledcyclist Posts: 26
    Im needing a headset for a FM098


    without ordering from China and it taking ages, where can I get one from please?

    My LBS couldnt match it.
  • ademort
    ademort Posts: 1,924
    What size headset is it?
    ademort
    Chinarello, record and Mavic Cosmic Sl
    Gazelle Vuelta , veloce
    Giant Defy 4
    Mirage Columbus SL
    Batavus Ventura
  • disabledcyclist
    disabledcyclist Posts: 26
    dodgy wrote:
    That's pretty rough for such a young lad, one hopes if he was able to scrape £2600 together in the first place, perhaps he can get another, maybe locally sourced this time.


    £2600 quid on a 105 bike ? how much did he pay for that frame in the first place?
  • tincaman
    tincaman Posts: 508
    Ordered an FR602 from Flixii. Its a disc CX carbon frame with mudguard mounts. Its just arrived in the UK so should be with me soon

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